Kelsang Gyatso Quotes

41 Sourced Quotes

In general, 'Buddha' means 'Awakened One', someone who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and sees things as they really are. A Buddha is a person who is completely free from all faults and mental obstructions. There are many people who have become Buddhas in the past, and many people will become Buddhas in the future.

Kelsang Gyatso
We need to keep a constant watch over our mind and learn to distinguish between the beneficial and harmful thoughts that are arising moment by moment. Those who are able to do this are truly wise.

Kelsang Gyatso
Whenever we see anyone in a high or low position, male or female, they differ only in appearance, dress, behavior, and status. In essence they are all equal--they all experience problems in their lives.

Kelsang Gyatso
Whenever we strive to make progress in our meditations, contemplations and so forth we are practicing effort.

Kelsang Gyatso
When we want a cup of tea our main wish is to drink tea, but to fulfill this wish we naturally develop the secondary wish to find a cup. In a similar way, the main wish of those who have great compassion is to protect all living beings from their suffering, but to fulfill this wish they know they must first attain Buddhahood themselves and so they naturally develop the secondary wish to attain enlightenment.

Kelsang Gyatso
Everything we have and everything we enjoy, including our very life, is due to the kindness of others. In fact, every happiness there is in the world arises as a result of others' kindness.

Kelsang Gyatso
Right now we have obtained a human rebirth and have the opportunity to attain enlightenment through Dharma practice, so if we waste this precious opportunity in meaningless activities there is no greater loss and no greater foolishness.

Kelsang Gyatso
We all wish for world peace, but world peace will never be achieved unless we first establish peace within our own minds.

Kelsang Gyatso
Today we can see many different forms of Buddhism, such as Zen and Theravada Buddhism. All these different aspects are practices of Buddha's teachings, and all are equally precious; they are just different presentations.

Kelsang Gyatso
Pure happiness can only be attained through developing our mind.

Kelsang Gyatso
Going for refuge to Buddha,Dharma, and Sangha means that we apply effort to receiving Buddha's blessings, to putting Dharma into practice, and to receiving help from Sangha.

Kelsang Gyatso
The cause of happiness and the solution to our problems do not lie in knowledge of material things. Happiness and suffering are states of mind, and so their main causes cannot be found outside the mind. If we want to be truly happy and free from suffering, we must learn how to control our mind.

Kelsang Gyatso
We know that we are happy when our mind is peaceful, and unhappy when it is not. It is therefore clear that our happiness depends upon our having a peaceful mind and not on good external conditions. Even if our external conditions are poor, if we maintain a peaceful mind all the time we shall always be happy.

Kelsang Gyatso
A practice that is suitable for one person is not necessarily suitable for someone else, and a practice that is appropriate for one person at one time is not necessarily appropriate for that same person at another time. Buddha did not expect us to put all his teachings into practice right away--they are intended for a great variety of practitioners of different levels and dispositions.

Kelsang Gyatso
Our mind is like a field, and performing actions is like sowing seeds in that field.

Kelsang Gyatso
Nothing can be accomplished just by reading words.
A sick man will never be cured of his illness through merely reading medical instructions!

Kelsang Gyatso
The moment we let go of our obsessive concern for our own welfare, our mind naturally relaxes and becomes lighter.

Kelsang Gyatso
Buddha's teachings are scientific methods to solve the problems of all living beings permanently.

Kelsang Gyatso
There is no greater method for experiencing peace of mind and happiness than to understand and meditate on Emptiness.

Kelsang Gyatso
Enlightenment is the inner light of wisdom that is permanently free from all mistaken appearance, and whose function is to bestow mental peace upon each and every living being every day.

Kelsang Gyatso
Love is the great protector, protecting us from anger and jealousy.

Kelsang Gyatso
Learning to cherish others is the best solution to our daily problems, and it is the source of all our future happiness and good fortune.

Kelsang Gyatso
We are all interconnected in a web of kindness from which it is impossible to separate ourself.

Kelsang Gyatso
Just as eagles soar through the vast expanse of the sky without meeting any obstructions, needing only minimal effort to maintain their flight, so advanced meditators concentrating on emptiness can meditate on emptiness for a long time with little effort. Their minds soar through space-like emptiness, undistracted by any other phenomenon. When we meditate on emptiness we should try to emulate these meditators.

Kelsang Gyatso
Since inner peace is the source of all happiness, we can see how important meditation is.

Kelsang Gyatso